Tuesday, June 29, 2010

This is the way the government hiring process works...

You apply for a job on USAjobs. You wait for the job to close. The job closes & sometimes you get notified that your resume has been referred to the hiring authority. Sometimes you get notified that you did not qualify. Sometimes you hear nothing at all.

In April I applied for a Contracting Specialist GS-09 target GS-11. This job would be a promotion to a pay grade higher than I am currently at. It would also mean a promotion in a year if I complete all of the required certification training.

About a month after the close date I received notification that my application and resume had been referred to the hiring authority. In many, many cases an applicant will not hear anything for a month or more (remember my last application took 2 months). It has been a month since being notified that my resume had been referred.

Today I received the following:

MEMORANDUM FOR Deborah Laks 29 June 2010

FROM: 87 CONS

SUBJECT: Letter of Inquiry

1. This office is considering you along with other eligibles for the position of Contract Specialist, GS-09 target GS-11, located at McGuire AFB, New Jersey. This position is a full-time position, career-conditional appointment, $53,500.00 per annum.

2. This position does not include any paid move, recruitment or relocation incentives. Any and all expenses associated with relocation to the duty location shall be borne by the employee.

3. Some other significant facts pertaining to this position are:

a. Typical duty hours are 7:45 am to 4:30 pm.

b. Overtime may be required, particularly during the months of August and September of each year.

c. Travel by military or commercial aircraft may be required.

d. You will be required to meet certain certification requirements applicable to the duties of this position. This will require a combination of online training and on-site training at different locations.

4. Please notify this office by 2:00PM est on 1 July 2010 if you are still interested in this position. Please send your notification by return email. If you do not wish to be considered for the position, please indicate the reasons why in your reply. Failure to respond by 2:00PM est on 1 July 2010 will result in removal of your name from the list of eligibles.

Thank you,

Career-conditional means eligible for tenure; tenure is granted after 3 years of employment at the lowest grade held. I am a tenured Department of the Air Force employee.

Overtime during August and September is because all government contracts renew in October. As a GS employee if I work overtime I am to be paid time and a half.

My response...

Good afternoon Ms Edinborough,

I am very interesting in the Contract Specialist position at McGuire. Thank you for your consideration.

Deborah Laks

KEEP YOUR FINGERS, TOES, LEGS, ARMS, and eyes crossed for me. It will probably be several weeks before I hear anything else (remember it took 6 weeks to hear about this position).